What Actually Happened To The Ghost Bomber Of WW2

The Mysterious B-17 Bomber Crash of 1944

On November 23, 1944, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crashed near a group of Allied soldiers in Belgium. Witnesses were shocked as the plane came down with its engines still running, which was highly unusual for a crash. The soldiers on the ground expected the crew to emerge safely, especially since no distress flares had been fired—usually a signal of an injured or incapacitated crew member. But as time passed, no one exited the wreckage.

Growing concerned, Major John Crisp decided to investigate. Upon entering the B-17’s cabin, he made a series of eerie discoveries: half-eaten chocolate bars, unused parachutes, and no sign of the crew. The absence of the airmen left Crisp and the soldiers bewildered.

Meanwhile, at an airfield not far from the crash site, the true crew of the B-17 had safely landed after bailing out. Lieutenant Harold DeBolt, the pilot of the bomber, later explained that the plane had been hit twice by flak, which severely damaged one of the engines.

“We had been hit in the bomb bay,” DeBolt recounted. “I’ll be darned if I know why the bombs didn’t explode.”

As the plane lost altitude, the second engine failed. With no other options, DeBolt set the plane to autopilot and ordered his crew to jump when they were about 2,000 feet from the ground. The plane, now unmanned, flew a few more miles on its own before crashing.

However, discrepancies between DeBolt’s account and Crisp’s findings added a layer of mystery to the story. DeBolt said that flak damaged the plane and caused two engines to fail, but Crisp observed only one damaged engine and found no clear signs of flak damage.

Some historians attribute this inconsistency to Crisp’s lack of technical training. He may not have been able to correctly identify whether an engine was still functional or distinguish between damage caused by enemy fire and that from a rough landing. But there was another puzzling detail: the supposedly unused parachutes. Crisp believed he saw parachutes still packed and ready, even though the crew had clearly bailed out.

The most plausible explanation is that Crisp mistook the used parachutes for gear or food that had been hastily stuffed into the packs after the crew made their jump. In the chaos of war, details often became blurred, and this may have been one of those instances.

In the end, all crew members survived, which was a remarkable outcome considering the circumstances. Despite the confusion surrounding the crash, the safe return of the crew was the best possible outcome in a dangerous and unpredictable situation.